No doubt, India is a cricket crazy nation. But what I strongly castigate is cricket captivating our country so much that there is no space, time or investment for any other sports in India. Cricket sure has been detrimental to other sports in our country. Is it because the sport has been a religion for us? All major countries have more than one sport/game that receive equal importance, fostering and investment. It is only India where it is never possible.

It was very shameful when recently our Women’s Hockey team had to collect donation to fund their travel to a foreign country. It sure is ironical that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is by far the richest board of the world. Sincerely, we need other sports to flourish in this country as well. May be if government cant take an effort in this, the media should. Sadly media is after sensationalism. Sensations generate ratings..and ratings generate ads..and ads generate more money. It has succumbed to commercialisation, what say?

It sure was insulting when India could score just one gold medal and two bronze medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Such a huge nation dubbed as world’s largest democracy having nothing to showcase? You would agree with me if I said cricket was to be blamed for this debacle. The over glorification of cricket while other sports are slowly dying. Ever heard of a country failing to qualify for world cup in football due to no proper shoes? Well you could hear that here in India. But what about our cricket players. They earn massive just through ads and it overpasses what they earn through playing for India. They get free lifetime travel, vacation, palatial villas, luxurious cars, trendy gadgets and what not. Guess what? When India fared poorly in the T20 World Cup, critics attributed the reason to excessive partying of players.

Seriously, I’ve lost all interest. It won’t matter to me whether India wins or India lose. I was least concerned of the IPL matches as well. The Indian Premier League has greatly succeeded in mesmerizing the minds of Indians whether it is poor, rich or dalit. It has enslaved us through the extravagant arrangements, the lascivious cheerleaders and popular Bollywood personalities.

Let me ask you, how many of you folks knew Viswanathan Anand was officially crowned last week as the world chess champion for the 2010-2011. The Indian grandmaster retained his title against Veselin Topalov in 12-game match achieving 6.5 points. Hello? Take a break. We have something to cheer. Forget India’s defeat at the T20 World Cup. Thanks to Anand for making us all proud in the sports arena. It gives me a sense of joy to boast Anand’s victory with my American counterpart who knows chess but is completely oblivious about a game called cricket!!!

I hope at least after Commonwealth Games, our government will take efforts to appreciate all sports. To foster talents that could make us proud. Meanwhile, it is time for each of us to encourage and patronise other sports like football in India. At least let us do our part!

Adios!